Spicy Yellow Puri

Puris…. yellow….slightly spicy….All time favourite. One of the most lilked dish in a Gujarati household. From a toddler to the elderly, everyone loves them.
Puris can be eaten at breakfast, for lunch or dinner, basically any time of the day. They can be eaten with fried chillies or pickle and also accompanied with a ‘sabji’-curry or a daal, or just a cup of hot chai. They can also be made plain without spices.

Puris are normally made at parties, weddings or large gatherings where food is served as it is easy to make in bulk and tastes great hot and fluffy and also when eaten cold.

Puris are deep fried and fluffy. Kids love popping them open before eating. I learnt how to roll a perfect round puri at the tender age of 10!

I still remember back home in the small town in Kenya, called Kitale, we had a very small community and on every occassion, be it a wedding or one of the many Indian festivals, the whole community ate together. During the day all the ladies would help with the preparations. Cutting vegetables, wrapping samosas and kachoris or whatever savoury was on the menu and also with rolling out the puris, ready for the chef to cook.

I went to these kitchens along with my mum as did many other kids. That was where I learnt how to roll puris and other food preparations and eventually I was helping alongside all the ladies.

One of the skills taught by my mum was that a full puri should be rolled out in no more than 3 downward strokes flipping the puri with every roll and I still do that 🙂

I have also encouraged my kids to help in our kitchen. Luckily both my girls have an interest in cooking too.

Ingredients
time 30 min Makes 20 – 30

3 cups Chapatti flour
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
3 tbsp Oil

Method
In a mixing bowl mix the chapatti four with all the spices, at this point taste the flour to check for the salt.
Add oil by making a well in the center. Mix the flour to make a crumbly mixture and then a stiff dough by adding enough water

Pinch the dough into small balls, around 25-30. Roll each ball between the palms and press to make them flat and round.
My little one loves doing this for me, she rolls them on the work top when her hands get tired

In the mean time heat some oil on a medium heat. Roll out the puris, about 1/2cm thick and 7cm round.
Once the oil is hot*, put in 1 to 3 puris at a time and let them puff up by pressing gently on them with a slotted spoon, before turning them over. Once they are browned on the other side take them off on a kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil.

*To check if the oil is hot enough, put a small piece of dough in the hot oil, if it comes up then the oil is ready, if the dough sinks at the bottom then let the oil heat up more. Any time the oil gets too hot and smokey, turn the gas hob down and only fry when the temperature is right otherwise the puris will get brown too quickly and lose their taste.
Here are my Puris for Sunday brunch with sweetcorn massala, stir fried cabbage, carrots and chillies, and sweet Jalebis bought from a sweet shop.